Ukraine is having problems with its ultra-nationalists. Hundreds of Right Sector members protest in Kiev. AP

Ultra-nationalist Right Sector members protesting in Kiev. Yahoo/AP.

Hundreds of far-right nationalist members of the Right Sector group in Ukraine are protesting against the government in Kiev. AP. The Right Sector was part of the original revolution and have been fighting against the pro-Russian rebels in the East. But their extremist views and actions have put them at odds with the government. The latest dust up comes after two right sector men were killed in an attack on local police in the Western city of Mukacheve. The rest of the men fled into the woods where they have been in a tense standoff with police since the shooting. The group has also been accused of taking civilians prisoners and torturing them. For their part, Right Sector is demanding that Petro Poroshenko be impeached and that militia groups should have their rights carry arms formally recognized. They also demand that the government declare martial law. 

My Comment:

I'll come out and say it. Right Sector are basically Nazis. That isn't Goodwin's law, that's just what their ideology most matches up with. They are more nationalist then fascist, but it is clear that they are very far to the right, even for someone like me. Unlike most nationalist/fascist/far right groups, their targets aren't immigrants or minorities. It's Russia and Russians.  

As a matter of fact, the influence of Right Sector and other Ukrainian nationalist groups, is what set off the rebellion in the East. They went out of their way to antagonize the Russian speaking Ukrainians in the East by banning their language and denigrating their culture. Ultra-nationalist groups also prevented any kind of federal settlement between the pro-Russian rebels and the government in Kiev. 

In short these are not good people. And it is amazing to me that there could be neo-Nazis in Ukraine of all places. The Nazis did terrible things to Ukraine (and Russia for that matter). If the Nazi's had won, there wouldn't be any Ukrainians left. It just boggles my mind that there would be anyone that would follow that ideology in Ukraine. It would be like finding a neo-Nazi party in Israel! 

Still, the influence the Right Sector, and other far right groups like the Azov battalion, can't be understated. They were at the front lines throughout the war with the rebels and might be responsible for keeping the rebels from an outright victory. They also are fairly powerful militarily, and could be a large threat.

There is even the possibility that the Right Sector could start a second rebellion against the Kiev government. It's clear they aren't happy with the way the government is acting and they have the troops and weapons. I don't think they quite have the numbers to take over the country, but they could do what the rebels in the east did and carve out their own territory. I don't think they would succeed because they wouldn't have the Russians backing them up, but they could cause a lot of chaos and death before they were defeated. 

I do have to say that I respect their views on gun rights. Not for the reasons that they do mind you, but right now I hope Ukranians civilians have access weapons. After all, if a bunch of neo-Nazis popped up in America and were organizing into large paramilitary organizations and had a major influence in the government, I'd want the rest of the people to have guns to fight them with.

I've said before that I have always  been uncomfortable with the United States working with the Ukrainians because of these far right groups. The fear is that our trainers haven't had their trainees properly vetted, and we could be training neo-Nazis by mistake. I don't know if that is happening, but if it is the case, it's one of the dumber moves the American government has ever pulled. Especially since the only reason we are in Ukraine in the first place is to giver the middle finger to Vladimir Putin...